Improve Your Bottom Line With Construction Equipment Telematics
Chances are that your construction equipment is equipped with fleet tracking technologies, such as telematics, to track and report data in real time. Typically, the systems used in the construction industry have a terminal installed on your equipment to gather and communicate data wirelessly via a cellular or satellite service. The data is then transmitted to a website where you, your fleet managers, your operators and your equipment dealer can monitor and get a better understanding of how, when and where your machine is being used.
If you have not taken advantage of the cost-savings potential that can come from using construction telematics already integrated into your equipment, now’s the time to get started. These technologies can help you improve your operation, enhance safety and streamline your business.
Here are five ways telematics technologies can save your construction company money.
1. Minimize Unauthorized Operation
You can use telematics history reports to keep a close eye on your machine and see where it’s been operated to help prevent unauthorized operation and potential vandalism to the machine and job sites.
A few ways DEVELON Fleet Management telematics solution can help include:
- Construction Equipment Asset Tracking: With cloud-based telematics, you can quickly glance at your phone or computer to see where your machines are.
- Operation Alerts: Most telematics programs will send you text messages or a phone call if your machine is turned on or moved outside of working hours.
- Geofence or Virtual Fences: Using the machine’s GPS tracking system, you can draw a line around your job site. If your machine moves outside that line, it will send a notification and can alert the authorities about possible equipment theft. A time fence or curfew on each machine can also be created. This is an especially important feature for compact equipment, like mini excavators, since they can be more prone to equipment theft.
2. Save on Downtime
Staying on top of maintenance is a time-tested way to reduce downtime-related expenses, and machine telematics solutions make it simple to track maintenance schedules. Using construction equipment telematics, you can see the following machine indicators:
- Performance
- Engine hours
- Fuel usage
- Engine idle time
- Work time
You can also monitor engine/hydraulic oil temperature and view fault and warning codes via a computer or cellular device. You can receive text or email reminders when preventive maintenance is due. Telematics is also helpful when your machine trips a fault code, because the system can immediately tell you and your dealer what the issue is.
DEVELON offers its Smart X-Care™ telematics solution to help you save on downtime. Using a machine’s telematics data, our knowledgeable fleet management system team will monitor your machine remotely from a machine monitoring center for critical machine fault codes, upcoming and overdue service and warranty expirations. When a machine alert is triggered, the telematics system will send two messages via email — one to you and one to your dealer.
The email notification will alert you to any immediate action that needs to be taken to prevent potential machine damage. Some simple issues can be addressed at the job site, meaning that the machine has little or no downtime and you can stay on schedule.
A machine utilization report will be sent for each machine subscribed to the service. Recommendations for how to improve fuel efficiency and reduce machine wear may be included. The report will also indicate upcoming machine maintenance needs.
Your dealership may be able to diagnose a problem without physically being in the same location as the machine — making response time faster. They also have access to the machine reports, so their service department can identify upcoming machine maintenance and contact you to schedule a convenient day and time to perform the service, minimizing any schedule disruptions. This will help reduce unnecessary machine downtime and cut down on travel time for your dealership’s service department. When technicians do need to visit your job site, they will be better prepared to fix your issue because of telematics data shared with the dealership.
To activate services like Smart X-Care, you’ll likely pay a monthly fee per machine. DEVELON offers a special free trial of the Smart X-Care service when you buy a new machine. Check with your local dealer for more details.
3. Improve Fuel Efficiency
Telematics data can help you improve equipment fuel usage and efficiency. The system monitors equipment idle time to help you identify machines that are working under or over capacity. Reducing idle times can also extend engine life and reduce repair and maintenance costs. And you can monitor power mode operation and adjust the power mode to do the same work while using less fuel.
4. Promote Better Operator Behavior
Data collected through telematics systems can be used to solve business challenges and improve operator performance, such as reducing prolonged idle time or improper use of equipment on the job site. You can track speeding, hard braking and other unsafe driving behaviors so your drivers are operating equipment safely, which can reduce your insurance costs. Furthermore, insurance rates are often lower for companies that use construction fleet telematics. By monitoring this data, you can correct these issues to promote a more productive and safer job site. You can also identify areas where you can reduce operating costs to extend component lifecycles and reduce the frequency of unplanned maintenance on construction sites.
5. Better Allocate Resources and Fine-Tune Bids
Telematics data can help create more accurate bids for jobs. It can show you exactly where and how often your equipment is being used. Using telematics, you can create reports showing utilization rates for each piece of equipment you own. By analyzing this data, you can determine if you are underusing your assets or whether it is time to invest in adding to your equipment fleet.
You can also monitor fuel consumption trends, maintenance history and the frequency of fault codes. You can see how many hours your machines were used and how much fuel your machines consumed on a particular job.
Since telematics monitoring systems are unique to each equipment manufacturer, schedule a demo with your local DEVELON equipment dealer to have them explain in detail how to use our system. Telematics monitoring systems offer a variety of benefits to help you make smarter decisions about how to manage your fleet as well as increase efficiency on the job site.
